Obama, Karzai Discuss 'Insider' Attacks

U.S. President Barack Obama (right) and Afghan President Hamid Karzai (file photo)

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Obama, Karzai Discuss 'Insider' Attacks

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U.S. President Barack Obama has held a video conference with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, focusing partly on efforts to stem insider attacks on U.S., coalition, and Afghan forces.

At least 51 foreign troops have been killed in "insider" attacks this year in which security personnel have turned their weapons on their Western mentors.

Meanwhile, Obama's spokesman, Jay Carney, rejected a call by three U.S. senators -- John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Joseph Lieberman -- for a “strategic pause” to assess the impact of the killings.

The White House said Obama and Karzai also discussed the need for restraint in the face of "inflammatory materials," an apparent reference to a film made in the United States deemed offensive to Islam that sparked violence in Muslim countries, including Afghanistan.